Manufacture of hosiery



Patented June 27, 1950 UN lT E-D STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,51 ,113 1 MANUFACTURE or nosntitr "Edward 5.. Siegrist; Milwaukee, Wis, assign'or to Holeproof Hosiery 00., Milwaukee, Wis, a corporation of Wisconsin N Application September 26, 1917, serial N0. 77%,413

This invention relates to the manufacture of hosiery.

In the manufacture of hosiery of the type having a longitudinal back seam, as in women s hosiery, the body of the hose is first knitted as a fiat section and then the marginal edges thereof are joined by sewing the same together. Conventional sewing machines used for sewing such seams employ three threads, two of such threads being termed looper threads, and 'the third being termed the needle thread.

When it is desired that the color of the seam be the sam as that of the body of the hose, the threads used in sewing the seam are of the same type and texture as those used in fabricating the body of the hose. For example, if the body of the hose is made of nylon yarn, the seam threads similarly are of the same type of nylon. Thus, when the completed hose is thereafter dyed, the color of the body and seem of the hose are identical. When a contrast is desired between the color of the body and the seam of the hose, in keeping with the trends of fashion, it is the present practice to dye the threads employed for sewing the seam beforehand to such a color that when the body of the hose, after fabrication, is dyed to a desired color, the seam threads will have the required contrasting color.

It is preferable, in the interest of good business practice, for a manufacturer to fabricate in nonseasonal periods a large quantity of hosier with the view to providing a reserve supply from which to draw in filling orders in seasonal periods. The disadvantage of predyeing the seam threads under such conditions is at once apparent, since it creates a condition where the manufacturer is required to predetermine the fashion trend relative to color combinations and also to estimate the customer demand for particular color combinations of hose body and seam. Should the manufacturers judgment be in error, he must suffer the consequences of being burdened with a large inventory of goods for which there is no great demand. In such cases it is economically impracticable to bleach out the dye of the seam thread and redye with a desired color.

Additionally, the present practice of predyeing the seam threads to desired colors is objectionable for the reason that an additional dyeing operation is required, which operation increases the cost of manufacture. Further, since the same types of dyes are used in dyeing the threads as are subsequently used in the final dyeing operation of the fabricated hose, the colors of the seam threads become unstable, and very frequently will '1 Claim. (01. L239) run in the course of the final dyeing operation, thereby impairing the quality of the hose and rem dering the same unfit for sale as first grade merchandise.

It is therefore an object of my invention to provide a method of manufacture, one application of which is particularly related to the manufacture of hosiery, which permits the fabrication of a reserve stock of hosiery in the natural color of the .yarn from which same is knitted, from which desired quantities may thereafter be withdrawn anddyed to desired color combinations.

Another object of my invention is the provision of textile articles of the character described, which in the manufacture thereof may be dyed, each article in 'a combination of colors, in a single dyeing operation, with each dye being fast and stable, and not subject to running.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent as the description progresses.

It is known in the textile art that certain types of dyes have particular aflinities for only certain kinds of textile yarns, and that such dyes will not act upon any textile yarns for which such dyes are not particularly adapted. For example, certain types of dyes, well known in the art, will act only on nylon yarns,and will not affect silk, cotton or rayon yarns. In like manner, there are other dyes which will act only upon cotton, rayon, wool or silk yarns, and will have no effect on any of the other textile yarns herein mentioned. The process of dyeing textile products fabricated from different types Of textile yarns with different colored dyes is known in the art as cross dyeing. Thus two or more dyes, each having an afiinity for a particular kind of textile yarn, ma be combined in a single vat, and the textile articles fabricated from a combination of yarns, in their natural color, may be treated in such vat containing a mixture of two or more color dyes with the various colors acting only on the textile yarns for which the same are intended.

In accordance with my invention, I may use one kind of textile yarn, as for example nylon, in the fabrication of the flat section which forms the body of the hose, and then may use, as one or more of the three seam threads, a different kind of yarn in the sewing of the seam of the hose. These seam threads may be either rayon, cotton or silk, and depending upon the final result desired, the various types of threads may be used in different combinations. Thus, for example, if the body of the hose is fabricated from nylon yarn and a relatively fine seam line of contrasting color is desired, one of the three seam threads may be of cotton, rayon or silk, using nylon for the remaining seam threads. If a. heavier seam line of greater contrast is desired, all three seam threads may be rayon, cotton or silk, or combinations of the same.

It should be understood that the textile yarns and the threads used in the knitting and seaming operations, are of natural color when used in the fabrication of the hosiery. After complete fabrication of the hose, it is treated in a vat containing a combination of two or more dye solutions, each of which dyes will act only on a particular type of yarn or thread to producethe various colors desired on the various types of yarns or threads.

While the foregoing has been described in relation to the manufacture of hosiery, it will be understood that the invention is related to other applications in the textile art, as for example in the manufacture of patterned hosiery and wearing apparel, or in the manufacture of textile yard goods.

It will be seen from the foregoing that I have provided a method and means whereby hosiery and other textile products may be fabricated of natural color yarns and threads, and then, in a single dyeing operation in a vat containing a plurality of dyes, may be dyed to a desired combination of colors. Thus a manufacturer is enabled to fabricate and build up, in non-seasonal periods, a reserve supply of certain textile products, in the natural color of the yarns and threads from which the same are fabricated; and then, in season, to withdraw from such reserve supply such quantities of said products as are required, and to dye the same to the colors or combinations of colors desired at that time to meet cus- Patent is:

The method of manufacturing hosiery which comprises fabricating the body of the hose from one kind of textile yarn in its natural color, thereafter sewing the edges of said body with a different kind of textile yarn in its natural color to form a longitudinal seam, thereafter subjecting said hose in a single dyeing operation to a plurality of different dyes, each of which dyes is particularly adapted to act on only one of said kinds of yarns, thereby to provide'a hose wherein the seam has a color different from that of the body of the hose.

EDWARD J. SIEGRIST.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent: 4

Snader Aug. 7, 1934 

